Huntington Beach to Ask Safety Steps Be Taken by Owners of Meadowlark Airport

The Huntington Beach City Council will ask the owners of Meadowlark Airport to make a variety of safety improvements and repairs following three accidents within a month at the small private airstrip.

The council Monday also suggested that Meadowlark pilots establish a nonprofit corporation to collect donations for airport repairs, a move that could keep the beleaguered facility afloat until plans are completed to shut down the airport and develop the property.

“I don’t know what stronger action we can take,” said Mayor Ruth Bailey, noting that city officials have no authority to order major safety improvements at the privately owned airport.

Both city officials and pilots have expressed frustration with airport owners, a Japanese-American family named Nerio, over failure to repair runway lights and make other improvements at the 40-year-old airport located squarely in the midst of residential and commercial areas of Huntington Beach.

“We as a City Council seem to be taking a tremendous amount of heat for that airport that the owner will not share with us,” Councilman Jack Kelly said. “(The owners) should be vigorously approached to put money in to make it a safer airport.”

Plans for Development

However, Bailey said she learned in a meeting with the airport owners last week that they plan to develop the property soon, which, she said, makes the likelihood of major expenditures for airport improvements uncertain.

“I think their feeling is that there is some urgency in terms of doing something to develop the property, and we certainly want to do everything we can to assist them,” she said.

The Nerios received City Council approval in 1980 to convert the airport to a mobile home park but were denied a zone change a few years later for a new plan for mixed commercial and residential development.

Art Nerio recently said the family is still pursuing development plans but refused to say how long the property would remain an airport. In response to Monday’s City Council request for repairs, Nerio said, “There’s no comment on anything I have to do with city.”

Meadowlark pilots have fought to preserve the facility because of the shortage of general aviation facilities in Southern California and the airport’s unique informal atmosphere.

Three Recent Accidents

But within the past month two planes crashed shortly after takeoff and a third struck an airport building after running out of runway on landing. The accidents have raised new concerns among airport neighbors and requests by both pilots and city officials for safety improvements.

While all of the recent accidents apparently were the result of pilot error, certain improvements could enhance safety at the airport, including a lighted landing guidance system, new runway lights, a runoff area at the end of the runway and fencing to keep out vandals, said Rich Barnard, assistant to the city administrator.

Donald Dodge, a longtime pilot and co-chairman of the Meadowlark Airport Board, an advisory committee of pilots, residents and Nerio, said the proposed nonprofit corporation would allow pilots and other airport supporters to make tax-deductible donations for safety improvements if the Nerios refuse the city’s request to pay for them.

The proposed improvements would cost about $5,000, Dodge said.

“As far as what’s going to happen to the airport, we’ve been hearing they’re going to develop it ‘soon’ for the last 10 years. Someday that’s going to be true, but I would hope that ‘soon’ is a long time from now,” Dodge said.

Sally Juergens, the advisory committee co-chairwoman representing Meadowlark-area residents, could not be reached for comment.

Night Landings Prohibited

State officials recently moved to prohibit night landings at the airport upon learning that the airport’s runway lights have not worked for the past six months, said Bill Riesen of Caltrans’ aeronautics division.

While Nerio and several pilots said occasional night landings without lights have continued, Riesen said Tuesday that such landings now mean the airport’s state operating permit could be suspended or revoked.

Nerio had paid for replacement of the runway lights twice but refused to replace them when vandals knocked them out a third time, airport business operators said. A private engineer who was voluntarily maintaining the lights died several months ago, Dodge said.

As part of their action Monday, City Council members also directed their staff to explore the possibility of vacating a public road easement that runs directly along the Meadowlark runway and allows unauthorized vehicles to drive through the airport property and occasionally over one end of the runway.

Shutting down the roadway would allow a runoff to be built at the end of the runway, giving pilots a little extra room when they come in too high or too fast for the short runway, pilots say.

The proposal will be discussed further with council members at a meeting of the airport board scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Barnard said city officials also hope to get a definite timetable from Nerio on future development plans for the airport property.

“It would be nice to clear the air,” he said. “It seems to be kind of a mystery right now.”